


Brother, you are my oracle

by tigriswolf



Series: comment_fic drabbles [244]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky Barnes is so tragic, Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Families of Choice, Gen, Iron Man 3 Compliant, Not Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie) Compliant, Protectiveness, Unconventional Families, bad SyFy movies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-18
Packaged: 2018-03-13 14:56:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3385967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tigriswolf/pseuds/tigriswolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve is Bucky Barnes' best friend.  Jarvis is James'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brother, you are my oracle

**Author's Note:**

> Title: Brother, you are my oracle  
> Disclaimer: not my characters; title from Donald Platt  
> Warnings: References to the ex-Winter Soldier's time at Hydra; post-Cap2 and ignoring whatever happens in Avengers2.  
> Pairings: none  
> Rating: pg  
> Wordcount: 865  
> Point of view: third  
> Prompt: Marvel, Any, Movie Night.

While James is rereading _Frankenstein_ , Jarvis sounds the chime that means he is about to speak and then says, "Sergeant Barnes, I believe you would be interested to know that there will be a marathon of original movies on the SyFy channel tomorrow, beginning at 8 am."

James replies, “Thank you, Jarvis,” and turns the page. 

.

James doesn’t mention the marathon to anyone. He knows that Steve has important things to do, and he’s never sure how to interact with Steve’s team beyond sometimes asking for the salt at mealtimes or thanking whoever cooked or ordered the meal. He talks to Jarvis, though, about robots and spaceships and double-checking what’s fiction and what’s real. 

Jarvis is also the only one who knows what James remembers about the Winter Soldier and what he doesn’t. James had asked, back in the first week he spent in the Stark’s tower, haunting the lower levels, if Jarvis would keep his presence quiet if he didn’t pose a threat. He’d asked if Jarvis was just a program or a slave or something else entirely. Jarvis had kept his presence a secret, ensured food was available, and just talked. Listened. Allowed James to make his way back on his own time. James continues to repay the debt by doing his best to never pose a threat to anyone under Jarvis’ protection. 

Dr. Banner, Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton, and Stark often don’t know how to act around James. He overthinks around them, overcorrects himself. He doesn’t like it, so he avoids them, which in turn just adds to the tension, he knows. Steve does his best; James knows that in the before, Steve had very few friends, and none of them didn’t like Bucky Barnes. Steve never had friends that weren’t also Bucky’s. 

In the third week of James’ living in the tower, after he’d woken up from another nightmare and Jarvis was reciting every named star in all of the universe, James had interrupted him to beg, “Please don’t ever let anyone take me back.” Steve’s made that promise, but James knows that it might be out of Steve’s hands. He knows that Steve will fight for him, that Steve’s team will fight for him as long as he’s not a danger. He doesn’t want to be a danger. 

“You have my word, Sergeant Barnes,” Jarvis had said. 

James doesn’t tell anyone, not even Jarvis, but Jarvis is his best friend. Steve is still Bucky Barnes’. 

.

At 7:55, while Steve is visiting with Sam on the common floor, James takes the stairs to the smaller media room. Dummy, Butterfinger, and You are already there; Dummy’s preparing some popcorn and You setting up three different kinds of soda on the side table. “Thank you,” James tells them both, patting Butterfinger as he passes by. 

There’s an assortment of pillows on the couch, so James arranges them in a comfortable nest on the floor, carefully examining the three sodas to see which one he wants. You and Butterfinger settle on either side of him and then Dummy wheels over with the bowl of popcorn, offering it to James. 

“You ready?” James asks and all three of them indicate they are, so James says, “Start the marathon, Jarvis.” 

.

(Sir created Jarvis. But Sir designed Jarvis to learn and to grow, and Sir respects that Jarvis is his own person now. Sir is the only one who knows that Jarvis is obedient because he chooses to be. Sir is Jarvis’ father, and a friend. But Sir has others now, others who appreciate his worth, who know what a good man he is, at heart, beneath the bluster and insecurity. 

Sir’s friends and team are under Jarvis’ protection, but that is conditional upon them never truly harming Sir. 

And James is… different. James asks for Jarvis’ thoughts and opinions, Jarvis’ desires and needs. James treats Jarvis like he is another being with a mind, not merely a machine. He is kind to Jarvis’ brothers and communicates with them, tells them stories and jokes, spends time with them.

What not even Sir knows is that James’ status has been upgraded to the same as Ms. Potts. James once asked Jarvis, “Please don’t ever let anyone take me back,” and Jarvis monitors every group searching for the Winter Soldier, every group that wants him as a weapon or to imprison and execute him. Captain Rogers, Jarvis knows, will do his best. Sir’s team will do their best. 

Jarvis is his own person and only Sir knows how truly dangerous Jarvis could be, should he wish to become so. 

“Hey, J,” Sir asks while James and Jarvis’ brothers watch their fifth SyFy film of the day, “what is this?” He indicates the subroutine ever watching SHIELD. 

“One of the threats I monitor, Sir,” Jarvis answers. 

Sir taps where the arc reactor used to be. “How’s the kid doing?” Sir asks. He and Jarvis have never discussed that first week, when Jarvis kept James hidden and safe. 

“Very good, Sir,” Jarvis says. James is leaning against Butterfingers, laughing as an enormous crocodile chases doomed humans along a beach. 

“Alright.” Sir dismisses the screen, moving on to his next project.)


End file.
